Image 1 of 1
M48 Cluster in Hydra (EDQ86 R5).jpg
This is a close-up telescopic view of the large (1/2º) and bright (magnitude 5.8) star cluster Messier 48 in Hydra near the border with Monoceros. It is a fine target for binoculars but is off the beaten path in a fairly blank area of sky.
For many years M48 was throught to be a missing Messier object, as there is nothing that matches Charles Messier's description at the location he gave. But 5º north of that position is this cluster, NGC 2548, which later historians of astronomy have called M48. Debate still remains about what object Messier saw. Observers Johann Bode (in 1782) and Caroline Herschel (in 1783) independently discovered this cluster.
Several very small and faint 15th magnitude galaxies from the PGC catalogue inhabit the field.
Technical:
This is a stack of 8 x 5 minute exposures with the Astro-Tech EDQ86 apo refractor at its native f/7 focal ratio, using the Canon R5 at ISO 800. On the Astro-Physics AP400 mount autoguided with the Lacerta MGEN3 guider. Shot from home on a mild winter night in January 2025.
For many years M48 was throught to be a missing Messier object, as there is nothing that matches Charles Messier's description at the location he gave. But 5º north of that position is this cluster, NGC 2548, which later historians of astronomy have called M48. Debate still remains about what object Messier saw. Observers Johann Bode (in 1782) and Caroline Herschel (in 1783) independently discovered this cluster.
Several very small and faint 15th magnitude galaxies from the PGC catalogue inhabit the field.
Technical:
This is a stack of 8 x 5 minute exposures with the Astro-Tech EDQ86 apo refractor at its native f/7 focal ratio, using the Canon R5 at ISO 800. On the Astro-Physics AP400 mount autoguided with the Lacerta MGEN3 guider. Shot from home on a mild winter night in January 2025.
- Copyright
- © Alan Dyer/AmazingSky.com
- Image Size
- 8192x5464 / 22.5MB
- www.amazingsky.com
- Contained in galleries
- Messier Objects, Star Clusters

